Evers & Afters (Dare With Me #2) - J.H. Croix Page 0,36

rattling gust against my coffee truck and heard a loud thump from a distance outside. Considering that I was safe and sound and dry, I carried on with my cleaning.

Not much later, there was a knock at the back of the coffee truck. Since I knew it was still pouring outside because the rain was pounding on the roof, I had no idea who was crazy enough to stop for coffee now. Thinking it was an errant customer with wishful hopes since my SUV was outside, I opened the door, surprised to find Elias standing there. He had no rain jacket on and his hair was wet. Without thinking, I tugged him inside. “What are you doing? It’s awful out.”

I was relieved to close the door behind him again and shut out the wind and rain. He was so wet, water dripped onto the steel floor beneath his feet. “I needed a coffee,” he opened with.

“I’m happy to make you a coffee, but that’s crazy to run through the rain like that. I hope none of you all are up in the air this evening.”

I reached for a clean towel from the stack of dishtowels ever-present on the corner of the counter by my espresso maker. He used it to wipe over his hair and dry his face and hands. I turned to get a coffee ready for him.

“All of our planes are on the ground, and I do want coffee, but I stopped because your windshield has a tree limb through it.”

“What?” My hands fell away after I automatically tapped the start button for his double shot of espresso.

Elias nodded calmly. “Yep, there’s a big tree limb poking right through it.”

I leaned my hips against the counter behind me and let out a ragged sigh. “You’re kidding.”

“Definitely not kidding, and not the kind of thing I would joke about. I figured you might need a ride. I mean, unless you want to drive home with a tree branch as your passenger and rain in your face.”

I actually laughed, and I needed it. “Definitely not.”

The espresso machine beeped at me, letting me know Elias’s shots were ready. I stepped to the side and quickly got his coffee ready before handing it to him.

“I tied a tarp over your windshield. Didn’t want it to get too wet inside,” he commented.

“Geez, is there anything you don’t think of? Thank you so much.”

“No worries. I have a few tarps in my truck, so figured it was the best option until you can deal with it.”

“Thank you. Really. If you need to get going, I can call a friend for a ride,” I offered, thinking Elias had helped me out in a pinch once already.

“I’m here already, and you just made me some awesome coffee,” he replied with a quick grin.

“Can you wait for a few minutes? I was just cleaning up in here.”

“Rocking out to the Bee Gees, I see,” he teased.

“I love the Bee Gees,” I said with a true loyalty I felt deep in my soul.

“I’m a fan too,” he offered before taking a long swallow of his coffee.

I wiped down the espresso machine again and finished cleaning the sink before putting everything away and grabbing the cash bag and my laptop. When I glanced up toward Elias, he was studying the small chalkboard I had mounted on the inside of the door.

I hadn’t updated it lately, but the two phrases jotted there were still worthy.

Don’t forget to smile. Bee kind.

There was a bumble bee drawn beside the second phrase.

“Do you change those up very often?” His eyes slid to mine.

In this moment where I wasn’t distracted by something else and I was alone with Elias, it felt like little fireworks went off in my body. All my girly parts woke up and that shimmering chemistry hummed to life in the air around us.

I must’ve stared a few beats too long because he prompted, “Cammi?”

“Oh!” I tore my eyes from his, looking quickly at the chalkboard. “I do sometimes. When the mood strikes me.”

“It suits you.”

“What suits me?”

“The chalkboard with motivational quotes in different colors. You strike me as the kind of person who wants the world to be a better place. Words matter.”

It suddenly felt as if Elias was telling me something more than the sum of his words. As we stared at each other, he looked slightly surprised and amused. “They do,” I finally replied.

The coffee truck rattled again with a punishing gust of wind. “Should we go?” I